Just Paint It: 24 Fall Craft and Decorating Projects

Yes, I’m getting ready for Fall. I know it may seem a little early but

a) I need to plan ahead to allow time for paint projects and

b) Summer, I’m over you. No offense.

After nearly two months of unpacking boxes and carting cardboard up the hill to the garage, I just brought a bunch of boxes back down the hill.

Fall and Halloween had a party in my office/studio. They didn’t invite me.

Isn’t it fun each year unpacking holiday stuff?

Or is it just me who forgets all of the ~~junk~~ pretties I have?

Since I’ve decorated 3 different houses in the past 4 years and now I’m in a new one, I’ve been trying to figure out where to put my decorating focus.

Otherwise I’ll surely be decorating for Halloween come December 1.

It’s happened.

I once decorated for Christmas on December 26 for our annual party because between kids, work and Life, I’d run out of time. I’d rather not do that again.

The cool thing about blogs is you have a “scrapbook” to help remind you what you did before, and either don’t want to repeat (!) or want to do differently.

Here are 24 of my Fall projects. Now, they’re not all paint projects. Nope. Once Fall hits, my floral designer juices start flowing again. So there’s a variety here.

As a matter of fact, let’s start with some floral-ish projects. (some more than others.)

Lazy Gal’s Guide to Fall Decorating - A few tricks I learned when I did retail displays.

I think everyone should use what they’ve got when decorating. Of course we like to buy new pretties each year, but it’s fun to add a little twist on what we already have too.

You don’t have to be a floral designer to create floral arrangements. Okay, there are a few tips that go a long way toward getting the result you want but often all you need to do is use simple fall décor.

Just in case you want them, here are 10 floral arranging tips.

It’s not rocket science, I promise.

But I won’t deny that florists have their own ways of doing things too. So I decided to divulge one of my secret weapons, Glossy Wood Tone.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make a fall wreath, here are a number of pointers.

Decorating mantels can be tricky no matter what time of year. Unless you’re a gotta-be-symmetrical-type. I’m not. Most florists aren’t. So this gives you a few ideas about placement and scale.

Again . . . not rocket science.

Same house, different way of decorating the mantel.

Fabric adds a layer of texture to mantels, and all decorating. This fall leaf burlap mantel scarf was easy to make provided a nice base for the rest of the décor.

Nothing says Fall like beautiful leaves and here is an assortment of hand drawn printables to use for all kinds of project. Even painting!

To create this faux stained glass window you don’t have to know how to paint even though it’s made with paint.

That sounds like it doesn’t make sense, but it actually does . . . in my world.

I have quite a few fall leaf painting tutorials, like this simple oak leaf.

And this oak leaf.

Or maybe this painted oak leaf.

Decoupage or paint fall leaves, your choice. Or both!

Add some glitter or pearl highlights on these fall leaves with Martha’s paints.

There are a lot of beautiful things to paint for Fall, like a cluster of grapes.

And some wheat stalks.

How about some cattails?

Fall fruit are not only delicious, they’re fun to paint too.

Then you can start painting all sorts of fun stuff, like fall napkins.

Paint wine glasses and you’ll have a wonderful hostess gift, maybe for yourself!

If you’re looking for something quick, try these candle wraps. Super easy.

Another really quick project is this spray painted burlap pillow. Yep, it’s spray painted. How fun is that for a pop of color?

Are you in the mood for some Fall decorating yet? I sure am, even though the a/c is running full force right now. Let’s get a jump on Fall because you know why . . .

Christmas is right around the corner!

(I’m not pushing it. I just would like to be prepared . . . for once in my life. Prepared for Christmas . . . is that even possible?)